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BPU Eyes Yard Waste Charge, Recycling Bin Replacement

Jamestown Board of Public Utilities district heating customers will see a rate increase starting Nov. 1.

Additionally, there will be changes to the district heating system’s monthly fuel cost adjustment and meter changes while the system continues infrastructure repairs and investments in the coming year.

All were discussed during a recent BPU board meeting by Kevin Karr, BPU finance and customer accounts manager, who went over the draft of the budget with the board, looking specifically at the areas of district heat, solid waste, and wastewater.

“We anticipate a larger infrastructure to ramp up 2026, so those are included,” Karr said.

Additionally, Karr said it is expected to end the year in a positive income position for district heating, but that could change as the weather gets colder and prices fluctuate. Karr thanked everyone in the BPU for their work controlling those costs.

Karr briefly discussed capital projects before moving on to solid waste, which at the moment is trending positive, he said. No rate increase is expected for 2025 and operating revenue also looks to be positive.

“This budget does include the elimination of commercial dumpster service on July 1, 2025,” Karr said. “I’ve spoken with Mark Roetzer and Dan Stone and they are both supportive of this direction, and I’m sure we will have some more discussions with the board on this.”

Karr discussed the consideration of adding a charge for the yard waste sticker program, saying that was bounced to 2026 as a placeholder, to be discussed with the board in the future. In the past there have been charges for bags but not stickers. The current recycling incentive program is also being discussed. While the current orange bins are still serviceable, the BPU is starting to see issues with the sensors that help the utility calculate recycling incentives credited to customers who regularly recycle. There is a placeholder in the 2026 potential budget for new bins but Karr added that they are looking at which direction to go with that.

The bins were originally purchased in 2014.

“The orange bins are starting to become end of life,” Karr said. “The sensors are no longer working. It’s causing issues in the field with people recycling, so we’re looking at different methodologies for collecting and getting recycling credits.”

Electrification of garbage trucks was also discussed. Karr said future estimates are to not have to purchase a truck every year, but every other year, with the possibility of buying another truck in 2025. The board discussed the numbers of trucks in the fleet that are reaching the end of their life.

For wastewater and water divisions, the board discussed increasing revenue and continuing reliable service. The declining population of Jamestown was noted to be one of the biggest issues concerning water services.

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